Melissa Mony

General Details

BMus (Jazz Performance) Sydney Conservatorium

Melissa Mony is a promising young saxophonist and recent graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music studying a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance. Melissa has been fortunate to study with a wealth of notable Australian jazz musicians including David Theak, Col Loughlan, Philip Slater, Judy Bailey, Craig Scott and Sandy Evans. Melissa aspires to further her academic music studies in Europe or America in the future.

Melissa is a member of the Sirens Big Band; the 17-piece super-collective of improvisers and composers who push the boundaries of the traditional big band format with their electric exploration of world music. Melissa featured as a soloist on several tracks on their debut album ‘Kali and the Time of Change’. The album was work-shopped and developed as part of the prestigious Bundanon Trust residency program in mid-2012 and recorded not long after at ABC studios Sydney. Melissa has enjoyed performing with the Sirens at the Sydney festival, Club 505, Sound Lounge and the BlueBeat.

In July 2013 Melissa was selected by SIMA for their inaugural Young Women’s International Touring Program led by trombonist Alex Silver. As part of a jazz quintet she toured Scotland performing at the Edinburgh Jazz festival, Inverurie Jazz Festival and Aberdeen International Youth Festival. The quintet performed an exciting mix of originals, arrangements of modern jazz and Australian composers, which was well received by the European audiences. Melissa remained in Europe for the remainder of 2013 exploring the European jazz scene, learning off master musicians and traveling. Melissa spent considerable time abroad in London studying saxophone with Andy Sheppard, attending the Guildhall Advanced Jazz Summer School and watching a smorgasbord of memorable gigs at the London jazz festival. During her time overseas Melissa traveled through Germany, France, England, Scotland, Holland and Switzerland, gaining invaluable insight and inspiration from the European music scene.

Melissa is also a dedicated and enthusiastic educator and has developed a confident and informed pedagogic style over the last five years in a variety of situations from private lessons to school band workshops. She currently runs an in demand private teaching studio in St Ives and periodically tutors at a number of Sydney schools including Ravenswood, Wahroonga Public School, Killara Public School and Turramurra High School. She takes great pride in her students’ musical development and has had outstanding success with her pupils participating in graded music exams, eisteddfods and HSC music.

Please email melissamony(at)gmail.com for more information on available times for 2017.